Tablelands property ‘strong’

SARAH NICHOLSON his corner of the Far North.

“We don’t have a lot of stock on the market at the moment” he said. “When I started in real estate 10 years ago Mareeba had 1200 properties for sale and now there are less than 400 on realestate.com, and we’ve had a massive three years and not been able to replenish stock.”

Mr Costas said those looking to get into the Mareeba market were locals seeking a new place to live and those from down the hill chasing value.

“Prices are good in Mareeba and people are looking to get out of Cairns because their money buys more up here,” he said.

“We shut down for four weeks (at the beginning of the

COVID-19 restrictions), so the phones did stop, but when we reopened we did six contracts in the first six days and the buyers are still out there.”

Zach Reid from Atherton First National said prices were also holding steady around his patch with increased competition expected to drive the numbers up in coming months.

“We have properties that have been on the market for 18 months that now have three people lined up to buy them,” he said. “We have been telling people genuine about selling that now is the time, because there’s not a lot (of properties for sale) around … and we have buyers that are keen.”